FREEDOM OF SPEECH

Rotorua Morning Post, Issue 5299, 11 January 1947, Page 4

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

piRST impressions of some .people of the dramatic gesture of the Waterside Workers' executive in seeking to ■ buy broadcast time in Australia to state a case, after a request for permission to use the national and eommercial network had allegedly been refused by the Director of Broacasting, may be that the union officials have scored . a moral and tactical triumph over the Minister of Labour. However, this plea for freedom of speech hardly rings true in the mouths of men who have repeatedly, and of late, daily, declined to avail themselves of the facilities offered 'them by the Press of this country. If the watersiders have a really effective answer to the Government and the Federation of Labour, no doubt it can be cogently stated within the compass of four minutes, which is the time allotted them by an Australian eommercial station for Monday. In that period, the spokesman should be able to state Why the union resolved to take the action it did in declining to work overtime, what are the specific points of its disagreement with the decisions of the Control Commission, why it has failed hitherto to make these matters ])ublic through the customary ehannels (and here, it may be noted, 110 eomplaint of having been "shut out" has been made to date), why it declined to resume normal hours of work pending the taking up of the I case by the Federation of Labour, and also why the union's cause is regarded as transcending the rights of all the other workers in this country and of their customers and kinsmen overseas. If these points can be made without the interpeilation of irrelevant detail, then no doubt the listening public of New Zealand will give "them a fair hearing and judge the statement impartiallv.

The broad question of freej dom of the air, howewr, is a I subject that cannot be allowed j to remain unresolved much longer. It has been raised in various other ways from time to time. The charge of political bias is one very easy to make by those who are not permitted the opportunity of airing views, which to these people, no doubt, are all-important. The only satisfactory method of dealing with this service, both from the viewpoint of a fair-minded Ministry and of listeners, is control by a non-political corporation modelled on the lines of the B.B.C. There are elements in the Labour' Party who consider . the radio a heaven-sent medium for preaching the gospel of Soeialism and they would not surrendel* this weapon without a struggle. On the other hand, the great majority of citizens would welcome the change and the chanee for a more comprehensive programme of entertainment and instruction that it would offer.